


Riptide

by chachii, ELdisturbance



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Hunk & Lance (Voltron) Friendship, Hunk (Voltron) is so Pure, Just all the pronouns for pidge, M/M, Mer!Lance, klance, mermaid au, shark!keith, totally on that merfolk bandwagon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-02-19
Packaged: 2019-02-20 10:57:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13145229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chachii/pseuds/chachii, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ELdisturbance/pseuds/ELdisturbance
Summary: The love between sharks and merfolk is strictly forbidden. In the old days, the offspring of the two were deemed too dangerous. The elders did what they felt was best and called for the execution of the inter-special children. This mixed breed was hunted down and killed. Their parents were punished to set an example. Their fins were clipped and had their scales removed. Merfolk wouldn't dare interact with a shark henceforth.





	1. Storm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ELdisturbance](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ELdisturbance/gifts).



_You will go through many hardships, my love. This is just another fact of life. You will have to fight for everything you want. So always be sure that you really want it, that you'll be willing to kill for it. People will call you a monster and you may have to be that monster._

* * *

There was a storm. He knew he should have gone home but have you seen how cute baby seahorses are? _It would be quick_ , he thought.  _Just move them out of the path of the storm and back home before anyone notices._ No one would think to take into account that home was through the storm. Going around would take too long but going through? If he swam deep enough he could manage.

The trick was to swim just low enough to still feel the movement of the water caused by weather on the surface. Swim fast, don't stop; the water is too unpredictable right now. This might have been a stupid plan, but you know what they say: hindsight is 20/20. 

Imagine having to rely completely on the motions you feel in the water. Knowing where every fish, ship, coral and rock are based on the way the water moves against them and then against you. The storm shakes the ocean in layers, spanning to the depths. It muddles the image. The lightning gave some type of light but only for a split second. He could see well enough in the dark but this was sincerely stupid.

There was something on top of the water. If felt unnaturally big, meaning it was most likely a human-thing. Something else was out there, possibly a part of the human thing. As he drew closer it appeared to be a ship. The waves came crashing against it violently. Maybe sitting under the known-to-be-fragile human ship wasn't the best idea but once again, hindsight. Wooden and metal containers came raining down as the ship capsized. Trying to outmaneuver the debris was a feat, even for a skilled swimmer. There were more and more fragments to dodge as the waves ripped apart the hull. He did his best but a broken plank tore into the skin on his back. It wasn't the pain that made him fearfully irrational. It was the blood. Even in this storm, something would be drawn toward it. A sense of foreboding began to swirl around the water. Or was that  _something else, someone else_ in the water. The ship was still collapsing on top of him but he froze. There must have been something out there and it was getting closer.

And then it was there. Just as he was about to be hit by the bulk of the ship he felt someone grab him. Just long enough to deliver him to safety before they fled back into the night. The figure was gone as quickly as it came.

Unlike anyone he'd ever seen.

* * *

 "Lance! Where have you- are you bleeding!?" It was nice to hear Hunk's voice instead of... anyone important. 

"I can't still be bleeding, you're overreacting. Besides I'm back! No one asked for me right? Right," Lance said as Hunk examined his back.

"Seriously, this is deep. I don't know how you'll manage to hide this from anyone." 

Lance hadn't felt his injury, seeing as he was too busy trying to get home and avoid punishment. "I'll just wear that damn cloak like I'm supposed to. Crisis averted," he said turning around and thus stopping Hunk from all of his fussing.

"I guess that will work," Hunk still handed Lance a gel for the wound. "So, are you gonna tell me why you felt the need to go for a swim during a hurricane?"

"Baby. Seahorses. I rest my case."

"You could have died!"

"I almost did," Lance says offhandedly. Seeing Hunk's face drop, he knew he had to explain. "There was a ship. I was trying to dodge all the containers falling from it when a piece of the boat scratched me. I was so scared, I thought something was watching me. Then someone pulled me out from under the wreck and yeah, I'm fine."

"Oh my dagon, Lance, buddy, you could have been attacked! I wasn't even with you-"

"Hey, let's pretend this never happened and from now on you can chaperone me. Deal?"

Hunk knew he couldn't stop Lance from doing whatever he wanted but it would be safer to go in a group. "Your mother is going to gut me."

"So, let's go exploring now!" 


	2. A girl

The corals were always so beautiful. The merfolk made sure to take care of them as the human pollution began killing things in the ocean. It wasn't an assigned task to a specific group, everyone was open to making their waters a better place and most took advantage. The problem was, humans admired the beauty of the corals as well. They come into the water to admire the life they're destroying. So it isn't like the reefs were off limits, but there are rules and restrictions. Many of which Lance and Hunk are currently breaking.

Lance loved coming to the reefs. This was one of Lance's less dangerous escapades so Hunk couldn't complain. The fish are tiny, fast and vibrantly colored. The corals and anemones are so vivid and awe-inspiring. It was clear to see the damage done by humans; the skeletons left behind in the wake of a human disease. It inspired the need to protect this flourish of life from the... world overheating.

This also happened to be where he met a girl.

She was removing overgrown seaweed from around the coral. She was so graceful in the way she carried herself. Lance watched from afar at first, but he was eager to know who this mermaid was. She clearly wasn't from his gam, he'd remember someone like her. Though, the mermaid fled after Lance called out. Nevertheless, he persisted. This place was clearly important to her because she kept coming back, giving Lance a chance to learn more about them.

"Why must you come back here? This is  _my_ place and you are ruing it for me!" The girl shouted after seeing him for the umteenth time. 

"I make it my job to know all the merfolk around here, especially the pretty ones," Lance winked.

"First of all, I'm fourteen and this flirting thing is weird. Second, who the hell are  _you._ "

"I'm Lance and of course I know you're younger than me. I also know there are no gams close by, so you must be traveling a ways. It's dangerous with all the shark territories you'd have to go through to get here," Lance decided to be straightforward. The girl side-eyed him for a bit before letting out a long sigh.

"My name is Katie and I'm a floater. Been that way for a while."

Lance didn't have the chance to meet many migrants. Merfolk were social, they never really got along well on their own. "Are you alone?" he asked out of curiosity and worry for this guppy.

"Um..." she hesitated to answer, "I'm with my mother."

"Has it always been just the two of you?"

"That's none of your business! I don't need you hanging over my head, I can take care of myself!" Katie snapped.

Somehow, they became friends. They met up from time to time. Hunk met her eventually and the three got along _swimmingly._

"Look Hunk, Katie's here!" Lance called out, swimming ahead. "Hey, Katie!"

"Oh dagon, you are so easily excitable. 'Sup stupid," Katie mocks annoyance.

 Hunk calls out a greeting and Katie reciprocates. "So are we just tending to the coral today?" She inquires.

"Of course-"

"Not!" Lance cuts Hunk off, "We're going to go check out that ship that almost killed me. They must have been transporting something good to go out in a storm like that."

"No, Lance, please. My heart, I am weak," Hunk tries to no avail.

"Hokuikekai you are supposed to be a big brave strong warrior guy, you can handle a shipwreck."

"Dagon, Lance don't call me that. My mother doesn't even call me that." Hunk knew he really didn't have a say in the matter. He already agreed to follow Lance around for the sake of his health and safety. He shouldn't have sold his soul.

"Wait, did you say 'died'?" Katie backtracked.

"That's not the point. I want to go see the wreck, it could have some neat stuff," Lance dismissed her question.

Lance led the way to where he encountered the ship, thinking to himself that he needed to visit his darling seahorses. The water felt different, better since the last time he was traveling his senses were distorted by the storm. It made him think back to the figure that saved him and the foreboding feeling he had. Who could have saved him? Why did he feel like he was in danger from something already in the water? Maybe the person would return to the wreck. He never did get to properly thank them.

"How deep do you think the ship sank?" Hunk thought.

"Maybe it sank so far we'll get to see bioluminescent  jellyfish!" Lance thought. He swam facing the surface, watching the distorted sky.

"First of all, the ship wouldn't be able to withstand the pressure that far down. Second, we're bioluminescent, why do you need the jellyfish?" Katie shut his idea down.

"Let's be honest guys: jellyfish," he said with conviction. No one would ever understand Lance's fascination with the simplest creatures. "You can't say they aren't at least a little bit cool. They have no brains and yet they're so smart. They must be to have not gone extinct by now."

"Aw, then there is hope for you yet Lance," Katie nudge his tail with her own.

"Hey guys, I think that's it," Hunk said swimming toward the wreck. It was conveniently placed at the edge of a trench. Of course Lance would want to come here, it could fall at any moment and he wouldn't hesitate to follow it down.

"I wonder who the ship belongs to?" Lance thought aloud. The largest part of the ship that nearly crushed him lay there, crumbling into more pieces. It was strange; usually a ship such as thing would have some type of marking or design indicating who it belonged to. This one was completely bare, making it all the more suspicious. The cargo was scattered  among the broken pieces. Lance swan closer to examine one of the barrels. He suddenly felt the same sickening feeling that there was something in the water he should be afraid of. He turned the barrel over, looking for a way to open it.

"Oh mighty dagon, this is  _galran quintessence_!" Hunk cried. "They're going to send someone to retrieve this! We have to leave!"

"It's fine, we'd know if a ship was coming long before it ever got here," Katie said helping Lance open the container. "Oh boy, I'm going to take some. Do you know what I could do with this? This is really the only thing galra are good for."

"You know how to use this stuff?" Lance asked.

"Of course, who do you take me for?" Katie scoffed. She pulled a small elongated container fashioned from pearls from her bag. The boys both seemed interested in where she acquired the freshwater pearls to make such a thing.

"Um... they're from my mother's home. She's a freshwater mermaid."

"Ha, that explains why you're so sma-" Katie cut Lance off with a swipe of her tail.

"Can we come back? Tonight, before the galra come for this stuff?" 

She didn't need to ask. Lance would come with her regardless and Hunk was Lance's bit- incredibly understanding friend. They'd help Katie get more canisters and come back after it was dark.


	3. An Encounter

As the agreed upon, the three met as the sun was going down. Katie brought a big enough container to hold about a barrel and a half of quintessence and her small pearl vials. The boys would help her carry the quintessence until she was almost home and help check the area for any galra weaponry. Lance was a little more apprehensive about leaving Katie to carry everything the rest of the way on her own but she assured him someone would come meet her. They didn't know much about Katie and they knew not to ask but that didn't mean Lance was going to stop worrying about her.

"We may not have a lot of time. If the galra were careful enough to use an unmarked ship they will most likely retrieve the cargo at night," Katie explained.

"Are you sure we can't come back when the sun comes up? It would be a lot safer than swimming at night," Hunk said. 

"If we come back in the morning we might be too late. Besides, it's so much prettier to swim in the moonlight," Lance chimed in. "Look at us, we're practically glowing!"

"Yeah, so much for stealth," Hunk sighed. Travelling at night would always be more dangerous. The glistening of their scales was meant to be a warning against predators but it was a homing beacon for trouble. It made them easier to see; easier to hunt. Hunk is definitely the most noticeable of the three but that isn't what worried him. There are things in this ocean that are much faster than him. Monsters that lurk in the night ready and waiting for the right moment to strike. This was all an accident waiting to happen.

They made their way back to the wreck. The extraction wouldn't take long. The quintessence was like oil but much heavier, it wouldn't mix with the water or float away. They'd get as much as they could and remove the water later.

Hunk carried two barrels out of the wreckage and they began filling the container for Katie. The used gloves, careful not to get any of it on their skin. It was such a tedious process that required focus and slow movements. They were so concentrated on the task that they almost missed the sudden movement in the water. 

Lance was filled with the same foreboding feeling from that night, "Guys I think there's something out there."

"We're almost done. Do you see anything?" Katie asked. She and Hunk continued their feat. It was likely nothing and she wasn't willing to leave her progress behind.

Lance looked around. It was fairly dark, all they could see was their own glow and rushed movements in the water. For Lance, it was unnerving. This was the second time he came across this ship in the night and he felt just as scared. It wasn't like him and he knew it. Something was definitely wrong but, Katie and Hunk were too busy with their test subject. Or Lance could be overreacting since he almost died the last time. There was another slight shift I the water making him jump. It was annoying to be so paranoid so he swam toward the empty hull. He peeked around the jagged edge just in time to see something swimming towards him.

"Guys, guys, GUYS," he yelled frantically, racing to his friends. Hunk and Katie quite literally dropped what they were doing, suddenly aware of the foreign presence. Lance turned toward the creature, positioning himself in front of the littlest mermaid. Hunk moved his tail to guard the pair. The creature came into view. At first, only its eyes were visible, glowing in stark contrast to the dark sea. It had rows upon rows of serrated teeth. It's tail dark and seemingly black. It was a

"Shark," Lance spat like the word was a disease. He was terrified but knew better than to let it show in front of a killer, a monster.

"What do you want." It wasn't a statement; it was a demand that came from Hunk. The creature didn't answer. It simply continued to circle them as if waiting for an opening. "We're not going to be an easy meal; you might as well leave and save yourself the trouble."

Finally, the shark stopped circling them, "There is something wrong about you, small one. I've never met one of you before but, I know your face."

"If it's a fight you're looking for you're making a mistake picking us," Lance said, disregarding his words.

"Oh please," he scoffed, "If I wanted to  _kill_ you I would have done it while your back was still turned. 

"Oh wow, it knows how to speak."

"Lance, he's not going to do anything. We can all agree to go our separate ways," Katie spoke up.

"Um? Why in this ocean would I allow you to go home! This thing could come back with more of it's kind! You're coming back with me and Hunk and this damn shark will leave or have half the ocean on his tail fin."

"Woah there, let's not start a war," Hunk pitched in.

"I didn't come out here hoping to run into you again and I don't care what you do next. I'm leaving- unless, of course, you plan to stop me," the shark boy turned to leave. Not trying to start any conflict, they watch him go, tension still high.

He disappeared almost instantly, though they could still feel him nearby. Lance was struck with a delayed wave of fear and it annoyed him to no end.  _Again_ that thing had said. Could it... no, a ruthless killer would never. But if it did happen, he really could have died that night. His body shook for a moment. He needed to push that thought aside and get back home.

"Lance, you alright," Hunk asked noticing a slight quiver in his fins.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. We should go."

Katie didn't bother arguing when they decided to take her back to their home. It wasn't safe. She couldn't very well fight and carry her specimen. They swam back, fairly silent, knowing that tonight could've gone very differently. However, things weren't much better at home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long for no reason. I'm gonna go start the next one right this second


	4. A threat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Maybe.

Hours had passed since the trio snuck away. The sun was rising as they returned to a city in shambles. Merfolk swam to and fro, in panic. Lance attempted to find out what happened but, the people knew very little of the circumstances surrounding the emergency. The Palace guards had left their post to protect their citizens. They were now positioned in the streets, armed and ready.

Lance approached when of the guards intending to get answers. That was a mistake. Before he could get a word out, the guard grabbed him by the arm and called two others over. It was no use fighting them. He let the guards drag him away, leaving behind a bewildered Katie.  _Maybe I caused this panic somehow,_ he thought.

"Um, Hunk..?" Katie turned to him. Was it normal for merfolk to be grabbed off the seafloor by royal guards? Is that why they were so unfazed?

"We'll just have to fallow them to the palace, this happens fairly often. Nothing to worry about," Hunk assured her.

She wearily follows him into uncharted territory. The city was flooded with merfolk but, they parted like the red sea as the guards passed. It kept on like this until they finally reached the palace. It was exactly as large and beautiful as you would expect it to be. The many shades of whites and blues made the building blend in against the water and yet it glowed, being filled with so much life. Hunk gave a simple nod to the guards at the gate and they continued on. They followed the guards escorting Lance through the main hall and then turned in a different direction from him. 

"Hunk, shouldn't we find out where they're taking Lance?" Katie inquired.

"What? No, he's fine. This happens all the time," He explains. "I'm sure Lance will come tell us all about it later. Right now, we need to go store this quintessence."

Lance was led to a room. The guards waited outside and the door shut behind him. He is caught off guard when someone nearly tackles him to the ground. 

"My baby! Oh great damon, you're here."

"Hi mom," he sighed. She squeezed the life out of the much smaller boy, coiling herself around him. She was beautiful, the epitome of elegance and an exact copy of Lance. It was nice to finally have the attention of someone so important. That is until she grabbed him by the ears and pulled them like she wanted to remove them.

"Mom, mama, please! Ow stop-"

"Do you have any idea of what happened here? We thought- Damon Lance, I could kill you myself!" She dragged him across the room. "The whole kingdom is in getting ready to go to war for their fallen prince. Damon, Lance you fool!" She released him as she sat on her throne.

"M-mama, I run off all the time. What happened?" 

"My darling, our city was attacked. No one has ever been so bold, we were not prepared. We thought they had taken you along with two others."

"Who? Who would have dared to do such a thing!"

"Those filthy humans. It was the Galra."

* * *

No one could have expected it. It wasn't like the galra haven't taken creatures from the sea before but, this was different. They go after fish, for food and sometimes take banshees. There were rumors of them stealing away drifters, since no one would know they were gone. This was different. How could they have stopped them? How could they have anticipated this?

A group of sharks is known by many names, one of which is a frenzy. That is an adequate representation of what was going on right now. The events of the previous night left them all agitated and filled them with revitalized bloodlust. They were attacked. Not by other sharks but, as one could assume, by top dwellers. Three were taken in the chaos, many others injured. 

"What those scum did was a declaration of war!" someone said. A meeting was being held discussing what actions would be taken moving forward.

"We will rid their infestation of our waters!" Another called out.

"Sink their ships!"

"Attack their shores!"

"KILL THEM!"

"KILL!"

"MAKE THEM SUFFER!"

One of the elders raised a hand and silence fell. Elder Greenland was one of the oldest sharks in their frenzy. Out of fear and respect, they listened to what he had to say, "Not all humans that enter the ocean are responsible. The galra are ruthless. They will not mind the loss of any human child. We must take their ships, set up blockades, go after their soldiers. We must show them that we will not allow this to happen again."

The crowd murmured their agreement with this plan. They weren't savages and they needed to be more strategic about this. They were warriors, willing and ready to fight.

"What about getting out people back?" A young voice called out.

"This may be hard to accept but, we must assume they are already dead," the Elder said. 

"How can we let that happen! That's my brother out there! How can we leave him in their hands!"

"You will silence yourself, pup! How could they possibly survive? How could we get to them? Will you grow legs and walk among those vile humans? If you cannot accept our decision you may go!" 


	5. Chapter 5

Tension rose in the months that followed. All galra vessels were sunk on site, small fishing ships were chased out of the water, galran soldiers were being lured to their demise but that never stopped the galra from coming into the sea and taking more of its citizens. All parties involved were ready to go to war. Many were ready and willing to take up arms, join the fight.

As much as Lance wanted to get into the middle of the action, he was essentially under house arrest. Lance was confined to the castle with very restricted visitation from Hunk. He'd barely seen Katie in all the time that had passed but from what Hunk told him, her family was apart of the missing group. If Lance could somehow manage to ditch his armed convoy, he could help Katie. He could help all his people get to the bottom of this galra mess.

There was a tap at the window. Lance thought it might have been his imagination but the tapping was more insistent. He didn't even have a chance to get up and check what it was before Katie came careening through the window. 

"Let's go loser, we're going hunting."

The crash had the guards banging on the door within seconds. "Prince! What's going on in there!"  It wouldn't be long before they broke the door down and seized the intruder.

"Lance let's go! We don't have all day!"

"You don't have to tell me twice," he darted out his room to join her. 

"We don't have a lot of time. You and your stupid, flashy, royal fins are going to get us caught," she said pulling him into the alley. Katie pulled out one of her infamous pearl vials and handed it to Lance.

"What-"

"It's glamour, Lance. Hurry up and drink it."

"Where did you-" She gave him a pointed look. "Fine, fine." Lance tipped the vial back. His scales turned a deep red. It looked to foreign, he wouldn't have recognized himself.

"Okay, now we need to get moving. There's a rouge ship coming in and I'm almost positive one of the prisoners is on it," Katie dragged him out of the alley in the direction of the supposed ship. "Hunk helped me plot the course of the ship. Whoever is captaining that vessel has never been on a ship before, I can guarantee that. We suspect it'll lose fuel and stop around North 19.8967 degrees-"

"You know I don't follow right?"

"Yeah, okay we'll see Hunk when we get there."

Just as Katie suspected, the mermaids intercepted in ship long before it shut down. They found Hunk and watched from a ridge as the guards sunk the ship. They pulled a figure out of the wreck.

"This treachery! They did not return one of our own, they throw back this filth into our ocean!" The mermaid clearly leading the group called out. "Bind it! We'll deal with this... thing later!"

"He's a shark. They're going to drown him out of ignorance! We have to know how he escaped, we have to help him!" Katie whispered harshly. 

Someone else seemed to have the same idea. They knocked the two guards binding the shark out of the way. Lance was the first to come down from their hiding place and lend a helping fin.

"Nope. No, you- No, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving the shark man. We need him." Lance said lifting the shark by his arm.

"Who do you think you are?" It was the shark that almost attacked them all those nights ago.

"Who am I? I am Lance, son of Triton, prince of the seven seas. That isn't why you came after us before?"

"Um, what? I don't know you?"

"Rude-"

"Oh, no, we gotta go. The royal guard will be after us," Hunk said ushering them along. Without any real thought, they followed the shark back to his hideout out in the middle of the abyssal plain. Katie did not wait long to announce her plans to the newfound group.

 "Listen up boys, we're going to the surface."

There was a pause. A long pause. Then a laugh from Lance but, he was silenced by a look from Katie.

"Pidge, I have to be the voice of reason here, we can't survive on the surface. I nearly died trying to get back to the ocean."

"Shiro, nice to see you're back but you know they took my family. I haven't had a moment's rest in trying to find a way to get them back and I found a way. Goodness, I'm not stupid," Katie sighed. "I met someone who could help us walk on land."

"I have so many questions! What the heck is a  _pidge_? And we're fish! How could we possibly walk anywhere without those leggy things?" Lance interjected.

"I'm Pidge but, that's really not the point. You are probably familiar with the myth of the fairies. It isn't a myth. I've met with the fairies, they can give us legs, we can walk on land and save the prisoners," she explained.

"That's not possible-"

"Lance, you do realize you're still red, right? Where do you think I obtained such a long-lasting glamour? I don't need your suspicions, I need your help. It was your citizens that were taken, princey."

"I never said I wouldn't help. I just can't understand why we need  _them_. What use could  _their kind-_ "

"He is one of 'our' kind you idiot. Of course, a  _mermaid_ couldn't tell," the small angry shark said.

"So, FYI, the both of you are insulting me," Katie shook her head. "Keith is right: I am a shark. As everyone can blatantly see, I am also a mermaid. That's why I need to get my brother back. Physically, he's a shark but he has a mermaid song. He called out to me, they know he's different and they'll pull him apart to see how he ticks! Shiro is the only one who's been there before and the rest of you... if I told anyone else what I am I'd die. You know the rules.

You guys are the only fish in the entire sea that I can trust. I need you to trust me."


End file.
